


The new normal

by nerdylife



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fluff fest, Sanvers - Freeform, So there you go, continuation of 2x08, couldn't wait until january
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-07 08:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8791033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdylife/pseuds/nerdylife
Summary: Picks up immediately after 2x08. Alex and Maggie navigate their new relationship.





	1. The next morning

**Author's Note:**

> Since refreshing the alex/maggie tag every hour unfortunately does not magically increase the number of sanvers fics out there, I figured I'd give it a shot myself. The next episode is still over a month away and I am hoping that writing this will help with the withdrawl. It'll be fluff mostly. I have four or five chapters planned out but I am sure I'll think of more along the way. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.

The first thing Alex noticed when she woke up was pain. Her neck felt like someone had tried to repeatedly hit it with a baseball bat. Next, she noticed that she was not lying in her bed but rather on top of someone. Only then did she realize that that someone was poking her ribs. Not someone. Maggie. The last night came rushing back and she couldn't suppress a smile. Maggie liked her. Maggie had kissed her. She had kissed Maggie. And apparently she had fallen asleep on top of Maggie. Life was great.

“Danvers, as much as I don't mind lying underneath a beautiful woman, I can't feel my legs anymore and something in my neck might have snapped. Please move.”

Alex reluctantly sat up. Despite the pain from falling asleep on the sofa she could have stayed there forever. Lying there, cuddled into Maggie and just enjoying the closeness felt... right.

“Ouch, yeah, sorry, moving right now. Wow, I can't remember the last time I fell asleep on the sofa.”

Maggie carefully rubbed her neck and groaned. 

“Must have been some night, huh?”

Alex ducked her head. This situation was completely new for her and she was wholly unprepared to deal with the awkwardness of it all. What would happen now? Yes, Maggie had kissed her but did that really mean anything? Maybe she had changed her mind now that she had gotten a good nights sleep and realized that her injury the day before had not been that bad. 

“Oh don't go shy on my now. We have established that I like you. I kissed you. You kissed me. It was great. I meant what I said last night, Alex. Life is too short. You are too important. I want to give this a try.”

Alex lips formed a relieved smile. Leave it to Maggie to cut straight to the chase. It really was happening. Maggie did not change her mind over night. She really liked her. That was good. But... what now? This was what people usually figured out during puberty. Here she was, at 28, acting like a goddamn teenager. 

“So... what does that mean exactly? Are we... dating? Am I your girlfriend?”

Maggie smirked.

“You are cute, is what you are. If you want that, then yes to both questions. But we should take it slow. That means no more spending the night couch or otherwise, until I have actually managed to take you out on a few proper dates. So what do you say, Danvers? You, me, fancy restaurant, tonight?”

“Yes. Oh no, I can't. I want to, but on Mondays I always hang out with my sister and some friends. You met them at the bar actually. Winn and James and maybe Mon-El. You wouldn't maybe want to tag along? It wouldn't be a date, but I'd love for you to actually meet them.”

Alex had to hide a grin as Maggie dramatically pretended to be thinking about her offer.

“Hm, I don't know... given the choice between a hot date and three guys plus your sister, who somehow managed to look like she wanted to kill me while looking like a puppy...”

Right. Kara had gone into overprotective mode the last time she and Maggie had met. It could have been worse. Apart from a very pointed smile Kara had mostly kept it together. Alex was surprised that Maggie had even noticed the reaction.

“I'll talk to her. That's not what she is usually like with my... well we haven't really been in this situation before but she is very protective. She had the dubious honor of watching me fall apart after you shot me down. I was a little... overwhelmed by it all.”

With that the playful atmosphere was gone in an instant. Maggie took her hands.

“I am so sorry Alex. It was never about you. I was just scared. And looking out for you, too. I really didn't mean to hurt you.”

Alex smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly. 

“I know that. And I am actually thankful for the way it played out. I mean, yes it hurt. I've never been rejected like that by anyone that actually mattered before. But it gave me the time to actually take a good look at myself and come to terms with the fact that I like women. And whether you liked me back or not had nothing to do with it. So... all good. Kara will understand that. I'll talk to her later, she'll want to know all about this.” She gestured between the two of them.

“That's all I wanted. So Kara will not kill me. Good to know. What about the others? Anything I need to know about them?”

“Well, I haven't actually told them about me, but I figured I might do that tonight. Winn is a massive nerd with a massive crush on my sister. Thankfully he has mostly gotten over that.”

“You calling someone a nerd? That's rich, Danvers.”

“Trust me, if you think I am a nerd, you are going to be blown away by Winn. Seriously, he used to keep little superhero toy figures at his desk.”

“He might give you a run for your money then.”

“Then there is James. He used to be photo editor at CatCo but he has now taken over as editor in chief. He is close with Superman and sometimes helps us out at the DEO. He is a good guy, you'll like him. Kara and him kind of had a thing a few month ago, but it never really took off.”

“James, as in James Olsen? You do keep interesting company. Okay, continue.”

“Lastly there is Mon-El. He is the alien we thought was attacking the president before you were abducted, actually. He is from Daxam, not Krypton, like we originally assumed. Anyway, he is still getting used to customs on earth, so we are kind of helping him out getting used to everything. I mostly can't stand him. He has a massive ego and thinks all women are in love with him. But for some reason the others get along with him just fine. Also I think he is in love with Kara, but doesn't want to admit it. So I'd rather keep him close to keep an eye on him.”

“Wait, are all the guys you hang out with in love with your sister? That's kind of weird.”

“Right? She mostly doesn't notice the tension but yeah, there you go. After mom told her that Mon-El had a thing for her she flat out asked him about it though. He denied it. So he'll probably be out proving his man whore status to the entire bar tonight, fair warning.”  
Maggie chuckled. Alex had the feeling she was going to fit in just fine. 

“Sounds like one hell of a group. Okay, I am in. But you do owe me a dinner. And Alex, whether you want to tell them or not is up to you. No pressure, okay? I am good either way.”

“That is sweet of you. But they deserve to know. Also, what good is a girlfriend if I can't show her off?”

Alex playfully tugged Maggie a little closer.

“If you are sure. I'll just follow your lead.” Maggie glanced at the watch behind the counter. “Shit, I have to go. I need to go back to my place and change before work. I wasn't really planning on staying over when I came by yesterday. You somehow always manage to derail my plans. Text me?”

“Yeah. My neck wasn't really planning on you staying but so worth it. See you tonight.”

Alex watched as Maggie went and grabbed her jacket. Somehow, within the newness of their relationship there was still that comfort and easy going banter that had made her fall for Maggie in the first place. She never had imagined it could be that way. Alex smirked when Maggie came back to kiss her goodbye. Instead of letting her get away with a peck she immediately sought to deepen the kiss and Maggie didn't even pretend to resist. Both of them smiled when they finally broke the kiss.

“Wow.”

Alex raised her brow. 

“Wow? Really? I am getting a small case of deja vu here, Maggie. Are you sure you don't wanna go back to being friends?”

Maggie just shook her head and pecked her lips one final time.

“Nerd. Text me.”


	2. Happy looks good on you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand chapter 2. Kara and Alex talk. I hope you enjoy, tell me what you think :)

“You were where? Kara why didn't you call me?”

For some reason Kara actually seemed surprised that Alex was not sharing her excitement at having jumped between earths to fight space aliens with a group of meta-humans and vigilantes.

“There was no time. Barry was there, and he needed help so I went along. There are no aliens on this other world. They were completely unprepared for what was coming. But, we managed to beat them. All is well, and now I have this cool device I can use to talk to Barry and actually go there whenever I want.”

Kara was looking at Alex with her best puppy look and they both knew it was intentional. It was not going to get her out of trouble with her sister this time. How could she have been so reckless?

“Kara you could have been killed! And no one would have known where you are and what happened. You have people here. You can't just leave me behind like that!”

“... I left you a note? I am sorry Alex, I knew it was kind of rushed, but Barry was there and after all the help he gave us when he was here I thought it would only be fair for me to return the favor.”

Urgh the puppy look was starting to work. Alex closed her eyes. What's done, is done. After all Kara was back, safe and sound. And Alex was in a good mood. There is no way she was going to ruin it by staying mad at her sister. Even though she probably should.

“Next time, call me. Bring me along. Promise?”

Kara looked like she knew she had just been let of the hook way too easily.

“I promise. I was so excited to see him, I just didn't think. I am sorry.”

“So, the other earth was attacked by the dominators, you said? Any chance we might have to prepare for an attack here, as well?”

“I think, unfortunately yes. But if they do come, I know who to call.”

Before Alex could answer her phone vibrated. A text from Maggie.

_How come there is so much more paper work when the case involves aliens? Bored to death. Can't wait to see you tonight. X_

She tried to keep her face neutral but judging by the suspicious look Kara threw at her Alex knew she was failing miserably as she typed a quick answer.

_That's what I have my lackeys at the DEO for ;) Talking to Kara right now. X_

“Wait, who just texted you? You are actually smiling.”

And of course her sister wouldn't let it go. She took a deep breath.

“Um yeah, so that was Maggie.”

Kara's face darkened when she heard the name and she sighed. They have had a variation of this conversation ever since she and Maggie had decided to be friends and Kara had to watch her struggle with the heartbreak of dealing with the rejection.

“Alex. I know you said you were going to try and be friends but you are clearly not over her if one text gets you that excited. I get that you want to be around her, but don't you think it might be smarter to take a step back and give yourself some time to get over her? She has hurt you enough. And wanting to stay friends despite that is kind of selfish in my book. I really don't want to see you get hurt.”

Now Alex was openly smiling.

“The situation might have changed slightly since yesterday...”

“The situation... what? Alex, spill. Right now!”

Kara was trying to keep her excitement in check but clearly was just one step away from actually jumping up and down.

“So it seems like getting hit with a laser beam put things into perspective for her and she came over yesterday with pizza and beer.”

“I like where this is going.”

“Do you want to know what happened or not?”

“Sorry, shutting up now.”

“She told me she got scared when I came out because she thought it was just about her. She has got a point there, actually. Anyway, she had this big speech about life being too short, and to be honest, my brain fried about half way through because I had just resigned myself to the fact that she didn't like me but all she was saying sounded like the opposite. And then she kissed me.”

Kara actually squealed and hugged her sister.

“Oh my god, Alex! I am so happy for you! What happened then?”

“Well we kissed some more and then we just ate pizza, drank beer and watched something on netflix. Don't ask me what, I can't tell you. My brain was processing. Anyway, at some point we must have fallen asleep because I woke up this morning with a seriously sore neck on top of Maggie. I invited her out with us to the bar tonight, I hope that's okay.”

“Of course it is. Oh god, I was kinda trying to kill her with my mind last time I saw her. I hope she didn't notice.”

Her phone vibrated again.

_Looks like I need to change employers then. Does she still want to kill me? X_

Alex smirked at her sister.

“Oh she noticed. I believe the words were something along the lines 'I can't believe she managed to look at me like she wanted to kill me while looking like a puppy'. I told her you'd behave though.”

“Well now that she is not breaking your heart anymore I am sure I can. But if she ever hurts you again, just know that I can throw her into space. Well she doesn't know that, but I won't forgive that easily.”

“While appreciated, I doubt that is necessary. I am bound to mess things up in this relationship just like she will. It will be up to Maggie and I to work through that.”

“So this is a relationship? Like, she is your girlfriend?”

Alex almost couldn't believe what she was about to say. She had a girlfriend. Someone she actually wanted to be with and someone who wants to be with her. Someone who was beautiful, smart and strong and actually got her.

“Yeah. We are taking it slow though. I was thinking of telling the others tonight though.”

Kara hugged her again.

“Good for you. Just, maybe do that before you are drunk? Seriously, I was about to interrupt you on thanksgiving because whatever you had planned was clearly not working out.”

Alex cringed a little at that. Thanksgiving had been awkward. In between James and Winn wanting to tell Kara about their extracurricular activities and her trying to come out she might have overdone it with the whiskey. But it all worked out fine in the end. Except for the fact that Kara still had no clue that her friends were being incredibly stupid and reckless. But that was a problem for another time. With Maggie there tonight she was fairly sure none of the boys would be brave enough to fess up anyway.

“Hey, being drunk on thanksgiving is a time honored tradition by now. And mom and I got to have a nice talk afterwards. We really have come a long way since last year.”

Life really was coming together for her right now. Alex can't remember the last time she felt that good. Maybe never. She shot one final text to Maggie before focusing back on work.

_She is happy for us. See you tonight. x_

Before she could go Kara hugged her once again.

“Alex? Happy looks good on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: maggie meets the superfriends. mon-el is a douche. what else is new?
> 
> any comments and suggestions are appreciated either here or on tumblr under theperksofbeingatvaddict


	3. Mon-El, NO!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was struggeling a bit with the pacing of this but I hope I figured it out in the end. Alex comes out to the superfriends. Things do not exactly go the way she planned. Thanks for all the kudos and comments so far, they keep me highly motivated to continue :) I hope you enjoy

Alex entered the alien bar and spotted the boys immediately. The bar was mostly empty. No surprise after the horrific attack earlier in the week. Before she could join them she spotted Maggie at one of the pool tables. She had to chuckle when Maggie missed a fairly simple shot and swore to herself. 

“Are you actually practicing you pool skills whenever I am not here? Because I hate to tell you, if you ever want to beat me, you might have to move in here for the next year or so.”

“Don't get cocky, Danvers. One day, soon, you will lose to me at this exact table. That is a promise.”

“You really do want to lose all your money to me, don't you?” Alex grinned at her girlfriend and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Alex felt her heart skip a beat when Maggie smiled up at her. 

“The others are over there.” She gestured to the booths in the back.

“Lead the way.”

James, Winn and Mon-El were already seated and smiled at them as they approached the table.

“Guys, you remember Maggie?”

Winn and James nodded while Mon-El mustered Maggie with interest. “No I don't think I have had the pleasure. My name is Mon-El. I work with Alex. It is an absolute pleasure to meet you Maggie.”

Alex raised her eyebrow. Mon-El seemed weirdly enthusiastic about their new addition. Maggie smiled nervously as she greeted the group. 

“Nice to meet you. Winn, James, good to see you again. You guys seem to be covered drink wise, so Alex, what do you want? I still owe you that one drink.”

Maggie winked and Alex blushed. If she didn't tell the guys soon she was going to be so obvious there wouldn't be anything left to tell. Before she could answer, Kara showed up.

“Hey guys, sorry I am late, there was a robbery that I had... to be stuck in traffic for? Hi Maggie.”

Right. Maggie didn't know Kara was Supergirl. That was going to be difficult to navigate around. This group was so used to openly talk about their daytime activities that they would need to be really careful not to reveal anything to Maggie. This was the first time in her life Alex was tempted to ask Kara for permission to reveal her secret. Maggie was pro alien and she was sure Kara's secret would be safe with her. But it also went against all her instincts. Protecting Kara and her secret had been her life up until now, and here she was, not even one day into her new relationship actually considering throwing caution to the wind.

Maggie didn't seem to pick up on Kara's almost slip though.

“Hi. Bank robbery? Anybody hurt?”

Alex was relieved to see her sister give Maggie a genuine smile this time.

“No Supergirl got there in time. Can you believe they still try to shoot at her with guns? One should think at some point they would get it. Anyway, they are in custody as we speak.”

It took every ounce of strength for Alex not to roll her eyes at her little sister. Obvious much? Maybe tonight they would get away with it because Maggie was actually focused on getting her friends to like her, but in the future? Maggie was smart. They wouldn't be able to keep up the charade for long.

For now Maggie just grinned at her sisters observation.

“Well, I suppose if I were desperate enough to rob a bank I might as well try to shoot Supergirl if I see a chance to avoid getting caught. Speaking of which, Alex, aren't you two running buddies? I am almost surprised she is not here tonight.”

Yep, five minutes in and she already hated lying to Maggie. She really needed to talk to Kara to figure out a way to solve this.

“I, uh, bars are not really her scene.”

Maggie looked at her for a moment, obviously contemplating asking some more questions but then decided to let it go. 

“So Danvers, what drink will it be?”

“Beer is fine, thank you.”

Maggie smiled and walked towards the bar. As soon as she was out of earshot Mon-El turned towards Alex.

“So Alex, do you know if your friend is single? She keeps smiling over here, that means she likes me, right? I should totally go for that.”

Alex was prepared for Mon-El acting like a man whore around the bar and ignoring his shenanigans. What she wasn't prepared for was him acting that way towards Maggie of all people. She tensed and it took all that she had not to immediately punch the guy in his smug face.

Kara knew her well enough to sense that she was about to go off and tried to diffuse the situation before Mon-El could get himself into more trouble.

“Mon-El I really don't think you want to go there. Trust me.”

Unfortunately he did not notice the warning tone in Kara's voice and decided to press on.

“And why is that Kara? She looks like she is into me and she is hot, who am I to say no to that? Don't tell me you are jealous.”

Now Alex really was plotting murder in her head. Who did this guy think he was? Talking about Maggie that way and then having the balls to openly taunt Kara? She might have been able to let the first comment slide but now it was on.

“Listen you imp...”

Before she had a chance to lay out all the painful ways she would and could dismember the Daxamite in front of her Winn decided to jump in to break the rising tension.

“Alex, didn't you say Maggie just broke up with her girlfriend? You might be barking up the wrong tree there, my friend.”

James had to stifle a laughter at the new information and grinned knowingly at Alex. Great. So much for telling her friends in a friendly chat over beer. Mon-El just looked confused.

“What do you mean? What does her having friends anything to do with this?”

Alex huffed. Before she could react however a beer appeared on the table and Maggie slid into the booth next to her. Noticing the tension she placed a hand on Alex knee under the table.

“Is everything alright?”

She felt the tension leave her body. There was something about Maggie that calmed her instantly. She shot one last murderous glance at Mon-El before smiling at the other woman.

“Yeah just fine. Thanks for the beer.”

Unfortunately the pouting man child seemed unable to let it go. Instead of hitting on random women in the bar or making normal conversation he continued to put all his focus on Maggie.

“So Maggie, tell me about yourself.”

Alex fumed silently while Maggie just rubbed her knee and smiled indulgently.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything and everything.”

Ugh, apparently that idiot thought he was being charming.

“Uh... okay? I am a detective with the science division of the NCPD, meaning I basically get to handle all cases involving aliens and vigilantes here in national city and don't take it well when the 'FBI'...” she put airquotes around the word and smirked at Alex “...tries to take away my cases. Luckily Alex figured out that I can actually bring something to the table when it comes to alien cases, so now I sometimes get to tag along. I was actually the one to show Alex this bar.”

Alex smiled fondly as she remembered how she had first met the other woman. Little had she known back than the annoying NCPD detective was about to turn her life upside down and become an integral part of it. She nudged Maggie's shoulder.

“Yeah, I was almost sure you were trying to kill me when you told me to meet you in the alleyway.”

James watched with interest as Maggie nudged her back and just smirked.

“Nah, if I had wanted to kill you, trust me you wouldn't have known it was coming Danvers. I am sneaky that way.”

Before she could answer Mon-El decided to butt in again.

“So Maggie, you wouldn't be interested in showing me some other fun places for aliens? I feel like you would be a very...experienced guide.”

Alex slowly counted to ten in her head. ...Nine...Ten. Nope the murderous rage was not going anywhere. James and Kara shared a panicked look while Maggie just looked on in disbelief. 

“Dude, give it a rest, seriously.” Even Winn seemed to notice that something was off.

“Stop what? She seems more knowledgeable about these things than you guys are.”

Alex was about to stand up when she felt Maggie put more pressure on her leg to stop her from moving. 

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I can handle myself Alex. Mon-El, thanks for the vote of confidence, but this is the only place I know. So I don't really have anything else to offer you.”

Mon-El still wasn't getting it.

“I am sure you have a lot more to offer.”

“Okay that's it.” Alex slammed her hand on the table. She was not going to sit there and take his bullshit for another minute. “Mon-El stop hitting on my girlfriend or the two of us are going to have a few rounds at the DEO tomorrow. And trust me you'll be wearing a lead belt.”

Well, that was one way to come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: the aftermath and the pool game of all pool games


	4. I think you broke your girlfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alex lands herself in hot waters. Four chapters in four days... not sure for how long I will be able to keep it up but for now I have some ideas left. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think :)

Before anyone really had a chance to react Kara had grabbed Mon-El by his ear and dragged him out of the bar. The rest of the table was left to sit in awkward silence. Maggie took her hand and squeezed it.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. This was not exactly how I wanted to tell you guys, but there you go.”

Alex threw an apologetic glance at James and Winn. James simply smiled at her.

“Well I for one am happy for you.”

Winn on the other hand still looked slightly stunned. “Looks like you were into her after all.”

Alex had to smile as she recalled the small exchange they had shared months ago. She had just been beginning to realize that what she felt for Maggie might have been more than just friendship and Winn's throwaway line about her not being into Maggie had confused her even further. She shrugged. “Just a little bit.”

“I guess then all that is left to say is, welcome to the superfriends Maggie!”

Maggie gave Alex a look of confusion. “Superfriends?” 

Alex head shot up. Surely Winn wasn't about to..?

“Well because we all...” She coughed loudly and gave Winn a pointed look, who thankfully caught himself just in time “...work with Supergirl one way or another.”

“All of you? Winn and Alex, I get, but what do Kara and James have to do with her?”

Winn looked like a deer caught in the headlights but James was quick enough to jump in and help his friend.

“I knew her cousin back in Metropolis and he introduced us. She has been helping to make CatCo magazine marketable again. Well actually she has just been doing her thing, but the fact that we get to report about her has improved sales greatly. And Kara...”

James trailed off looking at Alex for help and Winn continued for him.

“Kara took over for Cat in interviewing Supergirl. So yeah, in a sense Supergirl brought us together.”

Alex hated this. She hated lying, she hated how awkward the conversation had become but she should have expected it. If there was one thing those people were horrible at it was keeping secrets. And bringing someone into the group who did not know Kara's identity... well, that was just asking for trouble. She decided a diversion was probably the way to go.

“Hence the stupid name that no one but Winn actually uses.”

And it worked like a charm. Never insult Winn's inner nerd. “Hey I will have you know that this is an awesome name and everybody uses it. Except for you. But I have not given up on you yet, Alex.”

She smirked. “You might as well, because it's not going to happen Winn.”

Maggie watched the two of them bicker with amusement while James just rolled his eyes. He had been privy to this particular conversation one too many times. He looked at Alex with kind eyes.

“That's what you wanted to say Thanksgiving, isn't it? Alex I am so sorry, if I had known, I wouldn't have pushed my own stuff.”

There was a reason she liked James. Hero complex aside he was just a genuinely good guy. 

“It's fine James. I talked to mom afterwards, all good.”

James nodded and clapped Winn on the shoulder.

“Winn, how about we see if we can help Kara with Mon-El outside?”

Alex appreciated James attempt to give her and Maggie some privacy. Unfortunately Winn did not seem to get it and just looked at his friend in confusion. “Why, I am sure she has everything covered.”

James rolled his eyes and dragged the other man outside by his arm. “Winn, let's go, now!”

Finally some breathing space. Maggie grinned at Alex. “Wow Danvers, your friends are many things, but subtle is not among them.”

“For the record, Mon-El is not my friend.”

Maggie chuckled. “I figured. The rest seems cool though.” Then she turned serious. “So how are you really? I am pretty sure that this was not how you wanted to come out to them.”

“Actually, considering I was about to come out via drunken toast on thanksgiving before I was mercifully interrupted this should be counted as an improvement. Now they know. It's not like I had planned on keeping this” she pointed at their entwined fingers “a secret.”

“You really are a fan of big speeches, aren't you?” Maggie mustered her carefully to gauge whether she truly was okay. “Hey how about we use the time alone for another round of pool? I have a good feeling that tonight might in fact be the night when I finally get to beat the invincible Alexandra Danvers.”

Maggie was clearly trying to take her mind off things but Alex didn't mind it. She was fine, but beating someone at pool could always make her day better. “Okay, first of all, please never ever call me Alexandra again. The only one who does that is my mom and even she saves it for special occasions. Second of all, you are on. Though it is beyond me where your desperate need to give me all your money stems from.”

“Well, if you think that way maybe it's time to raise the stakes, Danvers.” Maggie raised a challenging eyebrow as she handed Alex her cue stick.

“I am not sure I like where this is going...”

“The Loser has to take the Winner out tomorrow. And they have to make it memorable. None of that dinner and a movie business.”

Well, if Maggie desperately wanted to make planning their first date harder on herself, who was she to stand in the way. “You are on.”

Alex set the game up. She wasn't worried. Maggie was such a terrible pool player she would be surprised if she managed to sink even half of her balls before Alex was done. She even let her break first.

Maggie managed to net one ball before she missed. Alex then proceeded to smoothly sink one impossible shot after the other. She smirked at her girlfriend.

“Well I hope you have something great planned Maggie, because if that date sucks after all this big talk I won't let you live that down for the rest of your life.”

Maggie was too focused on her shot to even come up with a proper comeback. 

“Game's not over yet Danvers.”

Despite her concentration the ball missed yet again. Alex suppressed a chuckle as she analyzed the table. This game was over and they both knew it. 

“It might as well be because I am about to clear my group while you still have what, 4 balls left?”

She carefully lined up her shot when she felt Maggie coming up behind her. “You know Alex, your confidence really is making me...” she felt the voice coming closer and closer until Maggie whispered the last word into her ear “...hot.” Alex gulped and accidentally hit the ball. Only her angle was completely off and instead of clearing her group she had managed to sink the eight. Oh no.

Maggie laughed. “Did you really just...?”

Alex felt a blush creep up her neck. “That was not fair. You cheated!”

Her girlfriend had the audacity to actually look proud at herself. “I did no such thing. I didn't even touch you. You sunk the eight all by yourself. That means you lost. I, Maggie Sawyer, just beat you, Alex Danvers at pool.”

Alex almost stomped her foot. How could she have lost in a game of pool? Right, her girlfriend had purposefully sabotaged her. “I can't believe you did that!”

“Did what?” Kara and the guys had returned back to the bar to witness Alex and Maggie bickering. Mon-El was thankfully nowhere to be seen. Maggie was only too happy to fill the rest of them in.

“Oh Alex here is just a little frustrated because I beat her. And now she has to go all out for our date tomorrow.”

Kara's eyes widened. “You beat Alex at pool? She hasn't lost a game since she was 15. You must be one hell of a player, Maggie!”

Alex felt the need to clarify. “For the record, she didn't win, she distracted me so I would lose.”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “Distracted you how?”

Maggie snickered and Alex could physically feel her face turn red. It took Kara a second to catch on but eventually she did. 

“Okay on second thought I don't think I want to know.”

Meanwhile Winn was dying of laughter. 

“You know, I am suddenly feeling a lot less intimidated by your mere presence, agent Danvers.”

That was enough. Kara was allowed to make fun of her. So was Maggie. But she would rather swallow nails than have Winn think he could get away with anything.

She pointed at Kara. “You, stop grinning.” Then motioned towards her girlfriend. “You, stop smirking.” And then she slowly stepped towards Winn. “And you, stop talking. Period. Or do I need to remind you of how many ways I can torture you just using my index finger?”

Instead of being terrified like last time however, now Winn's gaze simply jumped from her finger, to Maggie and then back again before a shit eating grin appeared on his face. Behind her, there was an audible gulp from Maggie who was frozen in place, mouth slightly open, eyes darkened. James laughed and clapped her shoulders.

“I think you just broke your girlfriend Alex.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Alex has some planning to do
> 
> I am not sure I will be able to upload the next chapter tomorrow, I am still not happy with where it is at right now but I'll do my best.


	5. Friendly Advice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the kudos and kind comments!!! They help me so much to continue writing this.  
> So a lot of this chapter is based on a concept from queergirlwriting.tumblr.com (her writing ist amzing, you should totally check it out), who was kind enough to let me use it. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think :)

Alex was screwed. It had taken her a second to pick up on the innuendo that everyone else seemed to have picked up on immediately, and when she did, she wanted the ground to swallow her whole. But that was not the reason she had barely been able to sleep after saying goodbye to Maggie and her friends last night.

No what kept her up at night was the prospect of planning a date. Not just any date. She just had to get herself roped into planning the date of all dates within a day. Not that dinner and a movie stuff, which meant she was straight out of ideas. The few dates she had forced herself to be on had been your typical 'let's meet up at a restaurant and make awkward small talk' kind of deal. Suffice to say, there had not been many second dates she had agreed to. And even then, it was always the other guy planning and doing the taking out. Now it was up to her.

She would have been nervous enough had Maggie been the one to plan the date. The fact that she would be out on a date with Maggie was enough to send her head spinning. This was what it was supposed to feel like, this excitement, the nervousness, the desperately wanting things to go right. She never had that before. And now there was the added pressure of impressing Maggie with some extravagant date. Just great. Her thoughts were interrupted by a text.

_I look forward to our date tonight – Maggie Sawyer, newly crowned Queen of Pool_

Alex groaned. She was never going to live that defeat down. Right now she was tempted to take Maggie out to another round of pool just to make a point but the bigger part of her just really really wanted to impress her girlfriend. The rematch would just have to wait. Now if she only actually had an idea what to do. She just hoped there would be no major alien incidents today because she was pretty sure she'd be useless.

She looked around the DEO. Winn was sitting at his usual place, discussing something with James who was “visiting” the DEO. Alex had no clue how those two had managed to keep their vigilante activities a secret at all. She couldn't believe she was actually contemplating going over there and asking for help but she was getting desperate. She would ask Kara, but despite there always being guys tripping over themselves because of her sister, Kara had in fact even less dating experience than her.

Right now that left Winn and James. Winn had dated, and somehow James had managed to get someone as tough and amazing as Lucy to date him. Maybe together they would be able to come up with something useful. Her pride was bruised just thinking about the conversation that would follow. But Maggie had conned her into planning and extravagant date, and she would deliver. Even if that meant giving Winn more material to mock her.

She went up to them. “You and you, follow me.”

The guys looked confused but followed her without another word into one of the laboratories. James waited until she closed the door.

“We are going to tell Kara. We told you we would. We... are just figuring out how to best approach the subject.”

Alex just shook her head. These guys were delusional if they thought Kara would actually allow James to continue to put himself in danger, fancy suit or not. “She is going to stop you no matter in what mood you approach her, but go ahead. That is not why I wanted to talk to you.”

“Then what is it?” Now James actually looked concerned. Winn, apparently having guessed where the conversation was going, started to smirk.

“Is it about last night?” If looks could kill, Winn would now be laying dead in the corner. “Okay, okay shutting up.”

This was humiliating. But she needed the help. So no turning back now. “It's not about last night. Well, it is kind of. Maggie and I made a bet before the pool game and agreed that the loser had to plan our first date. And that it had to be special. Since I did not expect that my girlfriend would con me into losing...”

Winn coughed loudly. “Please do elaborate on how she conned you again.”

Alex ignored him pointedly. “...I now have about 7 hours left to come up with the perfect first date.”

A smug Winn relaxed back into his seat. “And you need help? Who would have thought, big bad Agent Danvers in desperate need of advice on how to woo a woman.”

She took a deep breath. Needing help was one thing but there was no way she was going to allow Winn to let that get to his head.

“Okay, before this continues, let's have a short reality check, who of us actually has a girlfriend? Because last time I checked it sure wasn't you, Winslow Schott. And come to think of it, didn't your last girlfriend turn into a badly painted nutjob who tried to kill my sister?”

Winn raised his hands in defeat. “Okay okay, point made, you have game.”

“As the only one in this room who is currently not single I think it's fair to say I have not only game but more game than you guys combined, right James?”

James just looked at her with a crooked smile and shook his head. “Hard to argue with that. So, what do you need us for?”

Now that was better.“Thank you. I need to impress Maggie. This is our first real date. It needs to be perfect. And there is a slight chance she might forget about accidentally beating me at pool if I manage to pull it off. So any suggestions?”

“There are beautiful hills outside of National City. After Lucy and I got back together we went there for a day. There is this amazing place for a picnic. You can overlook the entire city from there. And on way back maybe just take her along the waterside? It's romantic.”

Leave it to James to come up with the most corny and cheesy date possible. Winn seemed to agree.

“Okay I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Dude, no. We are talking Alex here. I mean I don't know how she got Maggie to not be afraid of her...”

Alex scoffed. “Unlike present company Maggie is tough and can handle her own.”

“...but from what I saw yesterday she is not the romantic stroll along the waterside kind of girl. Didn't she say that she works with the Science Division of the NCPD? You should totally build on that Alex.”

“Like bring your girlfriend to work date? That's so much better Winn. I really do not need an audience for this date.”

Winn pretended not to hear the sarcasm in her comment and continued excitedly.

“No, you are not getting me, picture this: you take her here, show her around quickly, show her all the beautiful gadgets and guns. If she likes you I am sure she is into guns, so that'll probably be impressive. And once you are done with that we get to the good part. I'll show you how to hack into the DEO computer core. And then you can take the jet and go wherever you want to go.”

Alex raised her eyebrow. “And where would that be?”

“Well personally, I have always wanted to go to Australia. They have wallabies down there. Little mini kangoroos. I mean if that doesn't impress her, then I don't know what will. Or you could..”

Alex just looked at him with a blank face. Sometimes she really wondered what exactly was going on in Winn's head.

“...You are not listening to me anymore, are you? Geez guys, I am just trying to help.” Winn actually pouted.

“Yeah thanks, I am pretty sure J'onn is going to skin me alive if he finds out I..”

A deep voice behind Alex interrupted her. “If I find out what?”

J'onn. Shit. She was supposed to work on finding out more about the dominators and definitely not be planning a date. She had yet to tell the Martian about Maggie. It's not like she didn't want to tell him but they were at this weird place were they discussed very little personal issues and yet he was almost a father figure to her. She just hadn't found a great way to broach the subject yet. “I... uh.”

The head of the DEO mustered them all with a strict gaze. “Aren't you supposed to work? I know there is no major emergency right this second but I would like to get on top of this dominators situation before they arrive here, if possible.”

Alex blushed but before she could come up with a valid excuse J'onn continued.

“Agent Danvers, do you realize there are surveillance cameras in every room?”

Winn blanched. “Did you... spy on us?”

J'onn fixed him with a pointed glare. “It would only be spying if I had no right to see what my employees are up to when they should be working. I was just going to check whether Mr. Schott here was storing the guardian suit here at the DEO.”

James eyes widened. “Wait you know?”

“Of course I know.” J'onn looked offended at the idea that he could be fooled by James and Winn of all people. “I have not yet decided what to do about it. Until I do, you two may continue. At your own risk. If anything happens the DEO had nothing to do with it. However, I do expect you to create more of those suits for selected agents Mr. Schott.”

J'onn seemed to take great enjoyment from both men squirming in their seats. Then he turned to Alex. “And Agent Danvers, these are the keys to the observation deck. I will make sure there is no one there tonight. I hear star gazing is quite popular amongst humans. Now, I expect the two of you to be back at work in the next fifteen minutes. And I am sure Mr. Olsen has to go back to his day job.”

With a last glance devoid of any emotion the head of the DEO turned around and left the three of them gaping in the room. On the way out he passed Kara, who rushed into the room.

“Why was he smiling? And what are you guys doing here?”

Instead of answering the second question James focused on the more disturbing part of the monologue he just witnessed. “J'onn pretty much just planned a romantic date for your sister and Maggie.”

“He what?” Now Kara looked completely confused. “Wait, when did you tell J'onn?”

Alex was still shell shocked. “I didn't.”

Kara furrowed her brows. “Then how did he...?”

“Your sister is trying to plan a date and was straight out of ideas, no pun intended.” Alex glared at Winn.

James chuckled. “She asked us for advice. Apparently J'onn caught the conversation on the surveillance tape and came in to hand Alex the keys to the observation deck.” He shook his head. “Who knew there was a true romantic underneath all that grumpiness.”

Kara beamed. “That was sweet of him. You should totally take her there. The sky is beautiful at night. Or maybe James, you could prepare a table for them at CatCo? I always thought the balcony there was super romantic...”

Winn coughed. “Sure it was the balcony and not the company?”

Kara turned red and started to argue. Alex simply rolled her eyes as she watched all of them bicker. Why on earth had she though it was a good idea to ask any of them for help?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: the actual date
> 
> I might not be able to post again until the weekend, but I'll do my best!


	6. Pretty Perfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but life got in the way. I actually went home for the holidays, so I won't be able to update that regularly until the new year, but I'll try to stick with one or two chapters a week. The 7 hour trainride gave me the chance to write this chapter though, half of the next one and map out the two after that. Anyways, part one of the date, it got kind of long, so I had to split it. I hope you enjoy and tell me what you think :)

8.50 pm. Alex paced in front of Maggie's building, which was ironically only five minutes away from the DEO headquarters. This was the first time she was at Maggie's place. So far they had mostly hung out at the bar, or Maggie had stepped by her place after work. It was a typical multi apartment building, not unlike the one Alex lived in.

8.51. She wanted to just go and ring the doorbell. Every minute she was standing outside the building was one more minute to overthink her plans and work herself up even more. But she didn't want to appear overeager. She circled her motorbike once more.

8.52. Fuck it, she was almost as excited for this date as she was terrified of screwing up this relationship before it even really started, and if she would lay her cards on the table by being early then so be it.

She walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell. The door buzzed open and Alex found herself in a massive staircase. Great, now she only had to figure out which floor. Her phone vibrated. A text from Maggie.

\- 5th floor. Sorry, completely forgot. Oh and the elevator is broken. Looks like you have to work for this date, Danvers. -

Five floors? Please, that was nothing. Kara's first flat had been on the 20th floor of some shitty building that didn't even have an elevator. When signing the lease, Kara had conveniently forgotten that not everybody could fly like her. After months of Alex complaining she had finally given in and rented the flat she was living in right now. Besides, Alex would probably hike through hell and back for this date but that was not something Maggie needed to know just yet. 

One door on the fifth floor was opened and Alex knocked carefully.

“Make yourself at home, I'll be right out.” Maggie's voice came from the back where Alex could only assume the bathroom was. She looked around the flat. It was a simple one bedroom place with clean lines and minimal decoration but tastefully furnished. Just like her place it didn't look particularly lived in. Though Maggie was definitely messier than her. She had to chuckle. One workaholic analyzing the flat of another. Seemed about right.

Before Alex could sit down on the sofa Maggie came out her bedroom. “Sorry, work ran a little longer than...” She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Alex and just stared. Despite instructing Maggie that casual clothing would be fine for this date, Alex had wanted to put a little effort into her own outfit and had driven Kara almost insane in the process. In the end she had gone with skin tight black trousers, black boots and a silver top that flowed smoothly. She had actually put effort into make up and curled her hair. Just another thing about her that wasn't straight anymore.

It looked like her attempt to impress her girlfriend had been successful considering Maggie had been rendered speechless. As much as she would love to tease her girlfriend about her reaction, Alex wasn't faring much better. Maggie looked gorgeous. There were no other words to describe her. She was wearing a simple jeans with tight red shirt that showed ample cleavage. The tension in the room grew as both women simply continued to stare at one another. Alex swallowed and tried to play it cool.“You clean up nice Sawyer.”

Maggie just smirked at her as she tried to replicate Alex' stammering from the night at the alien fight club. “You do too, with the shoes the hair and the...” she gestured in the vicinity of Alex's face. 

Alex cringed internally at the memory. “I walked right into that one, didn't I?”

“Sometimes you make it way too easy. But you really do look great.” Maggie walked over to her girlfriend and pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. “Hm. You smell nice too. So, where are you taking me?”

Alex rolled her eyes, recalling the twenty text she had received over the course of the afternoon asking that exact same question. She would have to explain the meaning of the word “surprise” to her girlfriend at some point. “You have been trying to get me to answer that question all afternoon, what makes you think I'll answer now?”

Maggie just shrugged and flashed a cheeky smile. “Well I figured this afternoon you actually had no plan as to where to take me and were simply trying to play it cool. But since you don't seem like the type to just wing it, I am just going to assume you have a plan by now, so you might as well tell me.” She tilted her head.

Damn those dimples. But Alex had too much experience withstanding Kara's puppy look to give in now. “Not a chance Sawyer. And for future reference, if you want someone to tell you something you might not want to mock them beforehand.”

Maggie seemed to consider that for a moment before her smile turned wolfish. She stepped closer to Alex and seductively whispered into her ear. “Wanna bet I can get you to spill?”

Alex closed her eyes and inhaled sharply when she felt Maggie place a gentle kiss to her neck. Somehow she managed to speak. “Well if you continue like that, there is a good chance I will tell you, but there is an even greater chance that we never leave this apartment and if I remember correctly, you were the one who wanted to go on a few dates before anything happens.”

“Damn, what happened to the girl who couldn't take a simple compliment without blushing?” Maggie reluctantly stepped back and looked at Alex expectantly. “Okay, I'll try to be patient. Lead the way.”

Alex took Maggie's hand and lead her down down the stairwell. Once back outside Maggie headed to Alex's bike, but Alex tugged her in the opposite direction.

“Walking distance, huh? Are you taking me to that nice Italian restaurant around the corner? I always wanted to go.”

Alex smirked. So much for patience. “Nope.”

Maggie narrowed her eyes. “The bowling alley?”

Who did Maggie think she was? Some sixteen year old jock without a clue? “God no, give me some credit will you?”

Her girlfriend wasn't letting up. “Movie theater?”

“I think the wager was 'none of the dinner and a movie crap so'... no.” 

Maggie simply shrugged and continued the guessing game. “If we are going to the park I am going to need another jacket.”

Alex looked at the leather jacket she had come to love over the past couple of months. “Your clothes will be just fine.”

“Please tell me we are not going to the Chinese place down the road because last I heard they had some salmonella issues...”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “They do? I might need to look for a different take out place then. But no.”

“Are we...”

Alex cut in before Maggie could continue. “You won't be able to guess where we are going.” She was rewarded with a pouting look by her girlfriend. “Are you actually pouting? Wow.”

“I hate not knowing where I am going.”

Thankfully they had just arrived at the DEO entrance. Maggie wouldn't be able to recognize it because the first time she had been there Hank had insisted on blindfolding her, and the second time she was actually unconscious. “Well this was your idea, so now you are just going to have to deal with it. We are there.”

As expected Maggie was confused. “What is this? I walk by this building almost daily but I have never been inside.”

Alex smiled. “Actually you have. You just didn't know it was this building. Confidentiality reasons and all that. But since you'll be the official NCPD liaison in the DEO come tomorrow your security clearance was increased and you now actually get to see the entrance. Congrats, by the way.”

Maggie was left gaping. “I am what? Why? How?”

Mission make Maggie speechless accomplished. “Well, with the new executive orders all aliens are now going to be prosecuted the same way any human would be, and that means we will have to work more closely with local authorities, including the NCPD. Since we have worked together on multiple cases by now and you know how we work around here my boss decided you would be the best person for the job. It basically means nothing changes, except you have DEO security clearance and I am guessing a raise.” Alex shrugged.

Maggie blinked twice and then started to smirk. “I have so many questions about that but they are going to have to wait until tomorrow. For now I am going with this: You brought me to your work for our date? And I thought I was obsessed with work.”

Alex simply rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault the DEO had more to offer than most of National City. Especially if she had to make it special on short notice. “You don't even know where we are going yet. Follow me.”

She confidently lead Maggie through the main entrance, the operation center and the different laboratories and up the stairs to the top floor. She accessed the observatory with J'onn's key card and smiled when she realized the Martian had kept his promise. They were alone up here. She turned on the light, and one look at Maggie's face showed her that she had made the right choice bringing her here. Her girlfriend looked at the telescopes and the glass ceiling in wonder. 

“Wow this is... amazing. Where are we?”

Alex lead her to the middle of the oval room where she had placed a few blankets and cushions. 

“It's our observatory. I figured since you know so many of our alien friends you might want to see where they are actually from.”

Maggie beamed up at her and hugged her. “I would love to make some joke about you being a nerd and all but this is pretty perfect Alex. Thanks for bringing me here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> up next: the date p.2


	7. Intimacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of the date. It is kinda late here and I have been preoccupied with some stuff so I might have missed some mistakes when editing this but I wanted to put it out today since I'll be busy the next few days. If there is anything bothering you, just tell me and I'll fix it. Also enjoy, and let me know what you think :)

Intimacy. This is what she had been missing, Alex realized as she was laying on a blanket in between mountains of cushions, Maggie cuddled into her side. Maggie had wrapped her arm loosely around her stomach while Alex absentmindedly ran her hands in loose circles over Maggie's back. Alex had projected a few planets on the ceiling and dimmed the lights. Both of them watched in wonder as the projector moved form one planet to the next, giving basic information on each one before it continued its way across the universe.

Intimacy. Alex now realized it wasn't just about touching or allowing another person into her personal space. It was about closeness, literally and figuratively. She craved Maggie's touch and never wanted to let go of the hand she was holding across her stomach. But is was more that that. Right this second she was completely comfortable and content, a feeling she wasn't really used to. Maggie and she just clicked. There was something that was just right. She didn't have to put up a front or pretend to be someone she was not. They were just lying there, occasionally commenting when they recognized a planet and telling short stories about the aliens they had encountered from said planets. 

Turns out, Maggie hadn't always been as open minded when it came to aliens. When she had started out as a street cop in Metropolis she had been deeply distrustful of anything that wasn't human. She explained that despite her own outsider status in Nebraska she adopted some of the mind set and the arguments. When Superman revealed himself she frequently got angry about property damage and failure to follow police procedure. That all changed when she had saved a young alien who was being robbed by some assholes in the back of an alleyway. 

The girl had obviously been an alien with her light blue skin and apparently that fact alone had given those two guys the right to mock, threaten and rob her. She had also been very small and had not stopped shivering even after Maggie had chased away the guys with her gun. In attempting to calm the girl down they had ended up talking all night and Maggie had found herself confronted with lots of parallels to her own life. After that her attitude had begun to change. By the time she moved to National City she had become more comfortable with the company of aliens than many humans.

At this point Alex interrupted Maggie and squeezed her hand. “I am glad you moved.”

Maggie nuzzled her nose into her neck. “So am I, Danvers, so am I.” 

“So what happened to the girl?”

“We stayed in contact. I like to look after her. Kinda feel responsible, you know? She moved to National City last year, so now we try to catch up every other week.”

“Did you two ever...?” Alex wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer, but Maggie seemed so fond of this girl, she just had to know.

“What? No, god she is like sixteen or something. I mean I actually don't know how old she is and neither does she but she is just a kid.” Maggie chuckled. “No worries Danvers, right now there is exactly one girl I am smitten with.” Her voice turned serious. “More than smitten, if I am completely honest.”

Alex felt warmth rush over her. Intimacy. Someone else putting themselves out there for her to accept or reject. Someone else trusting her with their feelings. Her actually welcoming it for a change. Her reciprocating it. She pulled back from the embrace to look at Maggie as she was carefully choosing her next words.

“I am crazy about you. You have to know this. I can't even put into words what you mean to me. I never thought I would get to feel this way, and now that I do I want to hold on to this. I may have never dated a woman before, but I know how to care for someone. And I definitely care about you.”

She swallowed. Before she could continue she felt a pair of soft lips on hers, kissing her sweetly. Alex closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in the kiss. There was but one thought on her mind: Maggie.

Maggie pulled back and looked like she was about to say something but before she had the chance Alex had chased her lips and pulled her back into another kiss, this one less sweet and a lot more intense than the last. 

Suddenly, Alex found herself on pinned her back, Maggie on top of her, straddling her. She carefully traced her hands from Maggie's back, to her hips and started playing with the hem of her shirt. Maggie didn't seem to mind. In fact the woman on top of her moaned and deepened the kiss even further. Just as Alex was about to let her hands wander underneath the shirt she was interrupted by a loud growling noise.

Maggie blushed and smiled down at her sheepishly. “The case got kind of intense. I might have skipped lunch.” 

Alex chuckled and hugged her girlfriend. “That might have happened to me, too, once or twice. Kara keeps lecturing me about the importance of regular food intake, but if I get lost in a case, I simply forget everything else.”

“Finally, someone who understands.”

“Good thing for you, that I actually have prepared some food.” Alex got up to get the pizza and beer she had Winn deposit in the observatory before she went to pick up Maggie. “Well, prepared might be over exaggerating. I was thinking about cooking for us, but my sister reminded me that attempts like these usually end with someone having to go to the hospital for food poisoning. So I went with good old fashioned cold pizza and beer. Because last time that combination worked out great for me.” She dropped back down next to Maggie and placed the large pizza in front of them.

Maggie hummed appreciatively and kissed her cheek. “Worked out for me as well. So are you always going to steal all my moves?”

“Only to prevent you from dying from food poisoning.” Alex winked.

“Wait, you really can't cook?” 

Alex shrugged. “Not for the life of me.” 

Maggie regarded her with quiet wonder. “Noted. One question though: how did you reach the age of 28 without knowing how to cook?”

“Firm commitment to take out. If it delivers there is a fairly good chance I know the restaurant.”

Maggie stared at her for a few seconds before she pecked her lips. “I don't even know whether that's pathetic or impressive. I am however going to teach you how to cook one day.”

Alex smirked. She highly doubted that Maggie would succeed but she was willing to give it a try. Especially if it meant spending more time with her girlfriend. “Feel free to try, but you might just want to save yourself the trouble. Seriously, so many people have tried and failed. I once managed to burn water and almost burned down Kara's entire building.”

The grin that spread on Maggie's face reminded Alex of the face her girlfriend sported before she challenged her to their first game of pool. Always the competitive one. “Challenge accepted. But we'll practice at your place since I like mine. Or we'll just call Supergirl and have her on standby.”

Kara would love this but there was no way she was going to have her anywhere near the place when she was attempting to cook. There was only so many comments about her lack of cooking skills she was willing to take. “For some reason I think Supergirl would prefer I simply stay away from the stove. She hates it when people cause unnecessarily risky situations. You will just have to run interference before that happens.”

“What's the deal with you two anyway? You two seem close... And considering your stance on aliens before we met that seems kind of strange.” Maggie finished her beer and looked at her expectantly. 

Alex sighed internally. She had hoped she would be able to avoid flat out lying to Maggie for this one evening. She had yet to discuss the possible reveal of Supergirl's identity with Kara. So for now, she was going to stay as close to the truth as possible without actually revealing anything. She shrugged. “We work well together. We did from the start. She had my back and I had hers. And we have been through some crazy stuff in the last year. Livewire, Bizarro, the Kryptonians and the whole Myriad thing... stuff like that makes you grow together.” 

Maggie shuddered. “Don't remind me of Myriad. I almost moved back to Metropolis after that whole thing. Acting like a robot and not being able to break out of it? It was horrible.”

Alex hugged her. “I know. I like to be in control of a situation. Myriad, mind control? That's the stuff my nightmares are made of.” She wanted to share how had been forced to fight her sister and had actually tried to kill her and hadn't been able to stop despite the fact that every cell in her body had been screaming in agony. Even though Kara had forgiven her immediately, Alex to this day felt guilty for what happened.

Maggie seemed to sense that there was something she was not saying but instead of pushing she simply changed the subject. She bumped Alex shoulder and swallowed the last bite of the pizza. “So Danvers, I seem to recall you agreeing to let me teach you how to cook. How about we make a date of it, tomorrow night, your apartment? We'll start with something simple, I promise.”

Despite a sense of dread at the prospect of embarrassing herself in front of her girlfriend, Alex found herself nodding enthusiastically. It couldn't be worse than losing at pool. She hoped. Besides, she had just scored a second date with the beautiful woman in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: actually not all that sure right now. It'll probably be Alex talking to Kara about revealing her identity and the other guys offering their opinions (spoiler alert, j'onn won't like it) and maybe the second date. or I'll just do the date.


	8. Permission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a short one. With the holidays and all there was not much time to actually write and or edit. Also it felt wrong to add the next date at the end of this. If you can't tell by this chapter I am still somewhat torn whether Alex would actually be willing to reveal Kara's secret or not and I needed this conversation to happen. So no Maggie in this, but she will be back next chapter with date no2.

Alex walked into the new DEO fitness room to find her sister wiping the floor with Mon-El. She hated to interrupt anything that might beat some sense into the man child's head, but Mon-El was currently whining on the floor, so she assumed the training session was about to be over anyway. “Kara can we talk?”

Kara looked down at Mon-El and shrugged before she followed her sister outside. “Sure, how did the date go?”

“It was amazing.” Alex couldn't help but smile.

Apparently that was not enough because her sister gave an indignant huff. “Details, Alex, I need details!”

“I am sure you do, Kara. But I am not sure you are going to get them.”

At that Kara actually pouted. “But I helped you. With the planning, and the clothes and everything.”

Alex grinned.“J'onn helped me with the planning, and you mostly mocked me when I was trying to decide on an outfit.” She felt oddly protective about the date. It wasn't like she wanted to keep her relationship with Maggie a secret but right now she just wanted to enjoy being with her without analyzing every single moment.

“Well you tried on like a thousand. And you are usually a lot more put together than that.”

Well, she usually hadn't really cared what her date thought. If she liked the outfit it had been good enough. She didn't need validation. Now, she wanted to impress Maggie. “I needed this date to be perfect.”

Kara dragged her to a bank next to the river and looked at her expectantly. “Was it?”

Alex blushed and bit her lips. The date had been amazing. They had laughed, talked and made out. Quite a bit if she was being honest. But it was just too easy to lose herself in Maggie. And thankfully Maggie seemed to feel the same way about her.“Yeah.”

Kara searched her face for any hint of uncertainty but found none. She smiled. “That's really all I need to know. You look happy.”

“I really, really am. It feels like things are finally coming together, you know? You and I, working together. Mom and I working through our issues. Realizing who I am. And this beautiful amazing woman who is actually willing to go out with me.”

Kara furrowed her brows. “I feel like there is a but coming.”

“I am really afraid of screwing things up with her.” The thought alone terrified her. Right now everything was going great and Maggie seemed just into the relationship as she was. But Alex was bound to make mistakes and she might not be able to go at the pace Maggie was used to. And then there was the fact that she was lying to Maggie about one of the most important aspects of her life. Memories and experiences she wanted to share but couldn't because it would mean revealing Kara's secret.

“Why would you do that?” 

Alex sighed.“I have never been in a real relationship. I am 28 and I have never really dated. I have no idea what I am doing.”

“Nobody does. It depends on the person you are with. Just be yourself, and if it's meant to fit, it'll all work out.” Kara wasn't getting it. Of course she wasn't. Boundless optimism and all that. 

“There is also the fact that I am lying to her face on a daily basis.”

“Why would you do that?”

Alex shrugged. “It's not like I have a choice. Given the nature of my and Maggie's work and her attitude towards aliens in general your alter ego keeps coming up in conversations. She is curious about you.”

“Do you... want me to tell her?”

And that was the crux of her problem. The reason she desperately needed to talk to Kara. Someone to tell her what to do and give her the chance to talk through the fight in her head for the past three days.“I don't know. I have been thinking about this for the past three days and I really don't know. I hate lying to her. But you are my top priority.”

“Alex...” Kara tried to jump in but Alex needed to finish her train of thought.

“I know she would keep your secret. She feels close to the alien community and knows what the stakes are. But I also know rationally the risk of exposure increases dramatically with every person who knows about you. Never mind how trustworthy they are. And if it were anybody else asking, I'd be firmly against saying anything.”

Kara was silent for a moment while she thought about what Alex said. “I am not against it, per se. It's just, you have been dating for all of three days now Alex.”

Alex still wasn't sure whether she wanted Kara to talk her out of it or not. “I know. But I also know she'll figure it out eventually. She is now the official liaison to the DEO, so she'll be spending more time here, meaning she'll be spending more time with Supergirl. Especially since J'onn wants me to work with her to optimize utilizing her contacts to the alien community.” 

“And it would be weird and probably extremely suspicious if I kept my distance as Kara.”

Weird was an understatement. “She knows how close we are, so yeah, that wouldn't work. And I want you to get to know her. You'll like her. And she really wants to get to know you.”

“So what you are saying is, she will figure it out eventually.”

“Pretty much. But it'll probably take some time.”

“Cat didn't figure it out.” Kara looked almost proud at the statement.

Alex snorted. “I am pretty sure she did. And even if you managed to fool her thanks to J'onn, that won't work with Maggie since she knows M'gann and what she can do. Also Maggie is a lot more perceptive and open minded when it comes to the alien population, so hiding in plain sight will only work for so long.”

Kara took her hand.“Alex, you are the most important person in my life, and I trust you. If you think I should tell her, I will.”

And that was where her dilemma began. Did she really want to ask Kara to reveal herself three days into dating? How much of this was influenced by her feelings for Maggie? Did she really know the other woman well enough to trust her not with her own deepest secret but her sisters? 

“That's just the thing Kara, I don't know. Whenever I am with her I really want to tell her and feel guilty for lying, but if I actually think about it I know it is irrational and risky.”

Kara smiled reassuringly. “Okay how about that: you think about it some more, and if you feel you have to tell her just do it. I mean it Alex, I trust you. You have given up so much for me and if this will make your life easier then please, don't think about me and just tell her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next: Alex attempts to cook without burning down the street
> 
> Let me know what you think or come talk sanvers to me on tumblr (theperksofbeingatvaddict)


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